by Arley Gill
The Americans are “hopping” mad after the Russians have effectively implemented a regime change in their country. Well, to be more accurate, the US intelligence agencies have accused the Russian government — and, in particular, President Vladimir Putin — of giving a direct order to wage a cyber warfare by hacking United States websites and emails, especially that of the Democrats to influence last November’s presidential election results.
The strategy, it seems, was to denigrate Hillary Clinton and promote Donald Trump, the Republican Party candidate. We, the neutrals, have no way of verifying the truth of the allegations, since the Russians have denied the accusations, and President-elect Trump has essentially doubted the credibility of the US intelligence agencies. He says it is the same people that falsely claimed that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
Now, if we were to accept that the Russians attempted to, at least, influence the results of the US elections, could the USA justifiably and morally complain about that?
After all, the United States — more than any other country in modern history — has destroyed governments; created and installed governments of their liking worldwide; and influenced the results of elections and the direction of governments in diverse places.
If one were to consider the US involvement in the Caribbean alone in the twentieth century, a good place to start will be the Platt Amendment in 1901. The Platt Amendment made the US effectively a protectorate of Cuba after the Spanish-American War and gave rise to the base in Guantanamo Bay.
In 1903 the US-backed independence of Panama to construct the Panama Canal. In 1909 the US-backed rebels in Nicaragua to depose Jose Santos Zelaya. Between 1912 and 1933, the US occupied Nicaragua. Between 1915 and 1934, the US occupied Haiti. Between 1916 and 1924, they occupied the Dominican Republic.
Now, this is not even an exhaustive list of US occupation in the Caribbean during these early years. During the Cold War and the post-independence years, the United States continued to flex its muscles all over the world.
Some brief examples: In 1949, the US orchestrated a coup to overthrow the elected parliamentary government in Syria. In 1953, the US, through its Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), helped the Shah in Iran to overthrow the democratically elected leader of Iran. A year later, they assisted in removing President Jacobo Árbenz in Guatemala and installed a military dictatorship.
In 1959, they orchestrated the Bay of Pigs invasion in Cuba and today still continue to have an economic blockade against that country, primarily to effect regime change in Cuba.
In 1983, the Americans breached international law to invade Grenada and installed an interim government. Legend also has it that the Americans brought together some of the most prominent Grenadians on an island to form a political party, and funded them to win the general elections in 1984.
In even more recent times, the US invaded Afghanistan, which had nothing to do with 9/11; invaded Iraq, too, which had no weapons of mass destruction. The United States played a leading role in the so-called Arab Spring to effect regime change especially in Libya; supported the rebels in Syria against the sitting president which has resulted in an ongoing civil war. The post-invasion instability, especially in Syria and Iraq, created the environment for the birth of ISIS.
The fact is the US, far and above any other nation, has influenced the formation of governments; done so more than anybody else.
America was born out of civil war and revolution, where there were bloodshed and sufferings of ordinary citizens. The Native Indians can testify to that.
I understand why they should be upset at the Russians. After all, influencing governments is for third world or developing countries, not for the richest and most powerful nation on earth. I fully understand that; however, just like no one is above the law, no nation should be above external influence.
Moreover, the information which was made public by Wikileaks and other sources exposed the US system for what it is. It is riddled with double standards and dishonesty. Look at how the Democratic Party treated their own Bernie Sanders. In many ways, the US is no better than what attains in poor black countries. The same human weaknesses exist.
If it is that the Russians were able to effect regime change in powerful America, a Grenadian–American — if he were still alive — would have said, the “chickens come home to roost’’.